The Awakening of the Desert King

CHAPTER 3 INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN

3

FEB/13

ACT I STANDING AT THECROSSROADS

Valehaire after learning that Elgrab had dropped his book went back in and recovered it while the cavern began to crumble and collapse around him. The book was covered in numerous crawling sickly worms and he wrapped it in his tattered and worn cloak.

Emerging into the sunrise the heroes quickly encountered the Countess Lilith Myrmidion Dragon Rider of the Circulum Ursinum.

She told the group that the Circulum learned of their success and claimed the four items of power they had been sent to Brimstone to recover: The Diralith Staff, The Shield of Scion, The Book of Sorrows, and The Lacrimus Herbarius. She gave each of them a golden amulet with an engraved roaring bear on one side. “This shall show that you are now considered Adepts of the Circulum!”!

The Lady Countess Lilith Myrmidion
Arakasi seeking the rumored healing stores mentioned by the now deceased Xandra came face to face with an arquebus wielding, cigar smoking dwarf named Corvis Malik. Corvis hiding out in the cellar of the now smoking ruin of a mining shack thought Arakasi another zombie and shot him with a booming blast.

Corvis quickly stated his hatred of all things elvish and prepared to journey back to Brimstone to meet with the Caliph Mustepha the leader of Brimstone. But before he could get too far away Valehaire brought out his newly developed powers of wizardly runes and weaved a charm about the dwarf…

After some discussion the heroes decided it best to head north back towards the North and Sea of Tranquility and visit the Imperial Capital of Alesandria seat of the Emperor Nirthamir ruler of the Silver Elves known also as the Ghostwalkers.

ACT II GOT NO TIMEFOR SPREADIN’ ROOTS

As the heroes made their way to the north they saw several Al Haladin dwarves lead out ten hooded and bound figures. They removed their hoods and revealed them to be all Silvestri Elves which the dwarves dropped nooses over and promptly hung them all from the heights of Brimstone’s wall. The leader of Brimstone appeared before the gathered forces and citizens of the rugged town and bellowed out the proclamation that….

“We have faced the darkest evil this night and persevered for we are the Chosen of Kaleh, glorious Sol in his ever burning sky! And this day we bring forth his justice on those who would seek to traffic and conspire with The Worlds Below and the Demons that would seek to swallow the souls of all mortals and devour this our world! We have for far too long been the slaves of the damned Ghostwalkers and now we arise and cry This Is War!”

The western walls of Brimstone showed great damage from last nights bombardment by the Horde. Hundreds of corpses lay piled up and scattered about the walls while vast clouds of reptilian winged scavengers and dark crying ravens picked over them. The Al Haladin forces gathered about Brimstone beginning the repairs as a vast cloud of dust arose some five to six miles to the south showing the position of the withdrawing army.

Deciding to proceed to the north east where the Brimstone dwarves were fewest the group made its way, from out of the dusty rubble of a nearby sulfur mine entrance staggered Dim Mak…

He told the escapees of Brimstone that he had been a slave in the mines and remembered little else. The group quickly realized that they were being followed by numerous Al Haladin outriders atop fast, aggressive raptor like sauropods quickly gaining ground.

Seeking cover and shelter in a nearby plateau Dim Mak and Valehaire climbed upward sixty feet of cliff to find a small cave. Meanwhile Guido and Lionheart moving more slowly fell behind and were soon surrounded. A strangely non-dwarven half elf apparently in disguise told the group to get away.

Seeking shelter the party climbed into the cave and attempted to obtain some badly needed sleep. Valehaire however immediately begin to experience terrible nightmares.

The Book of Elgrab now known to be the LIBERINFERNUM was apparently exerting a diabolical and powerful influence on Valehaire. The group attempted to put the book at least thirty feet away and they were finally able to get some sleep. A secret passage discovered by Guido lead to a hidden map room deep within the plateau that was somehow connected to the approaching sickly green comet.

High atop the plateau Valehaire witnessed six ominously approaching wraith figures and heard their soft other worldly moans of “The hunt…the hunt…to find for Elgrab…to find for our master.”

Traveling under cover of darkness the heroes managed to avoid the hunting wraiths until the follwoing sunrise where Dim Mak located a ruined cliff side structure and settled in to rest through the burning heat of the coming day.